TANNER Read online

  “I’m taking you back to the motel,” he said as he started the engine with a growl.

  The bike vibrated underneath them and she gasped and held onto Tanner for dear life. Her mind was swirling with both fear and excitement, but she couldn’t wait to feel the force running through her as they powered away.

  As he pulled the bike onto the street and accelerated fast and hard, Jo found herself squealing with delight. He weaved the bike in and out of the roads, from one side of the street to the next. The feeling of the wind whipping past her was so much more intense than it had been the previous evening. She had thought driving a convertible at night had been badass, but this was in another league altogether. The danger, the speed, the man between her thighs. It was the single most amazing experience of her entire life.

  As they flew down Main Street, she watched how the pedestrians stopped and stared at them. They too were in awe of what they were witnessing. They could feel the power and the raw animal magnetism being given off by Tanner and his incredible machine.

  The motel wasn’t far out of Main Street, and Jo was genuinely disappointed. She was so loving being on the back of that bike that she never wanted them to reach their destination. She loved the feel of it, she loved being so close to him, and she loved the way it had brought them closer.

  Tanner had stepped up and made her his priority. He had saved her. Whisked her away into the night and made sure she got home safe. If that wasn’t a testament to what a good person he was, she didn’t know what was.

  Kirsten had gotten the bikers wrong. So very, very wrong.

  They weren’t wicked, murderous outlaws ready to exploit women. They were genuine souls who, just like everyone else in the world, craved a bit of love. She felt herself nuzzle into the back of his neck and he squeezed her wrist lightly as they pulled into the parking lot of the motel.

  “Well, here we are,” Tanner said as he stepped off the bike and helped Jo to her feet.

  “Tanner,” she smiled. “Honestly, that was incredible. I loved being on the back of that bike with you.”

  He smiled and looked down at her with his big, deep eyes.

  When he kissed her again, this time there was something more there. They weren’t strangers anymore. Over the course of the past few hours, they had become something to each other, they had broken down walls and bonded over a mutual threat. And now, Jo was sure he meant well. He wasn’t an opportunist just out for himself. He had cared for her, and he had wanted her there with him.

  She felt her heart swell.

  “Tomorrow,” he said as he kissed her longingly on the cheek and held onto her hand. “I’ll come and pick you up at dusk.”

  It wasn’t a question, and Jo felt her pussy twinge again. She loved the way he was being so bossy with her.

  “Okay,” she whispered as she lingered on his lips.

  “Until tomorrow, Jo,” he said as he mock tipped an imaginary hat and climbed back onto his bike. “Don’t be getting that car fixed and skipping town without letting me know.” He winked.

  “That’s the last thing I’d do,” she panted.

  But he smiled and winked again, and she hugged her arms around herself.

  “Good night, Tanner,” she said as she turned and walked toward her motel room door. “Thank you for tonight.”

  “Thank you,” he said.

  He revved the engine and spun the bike around, kicking up a huge cloud of dust and sand as he went.

  It had been a crazy day and night, but all in all, the most perfect date she had ever been on. She had never felt so at home and welcomed anywhere before in her life. It had been the last thing she had expected when she had headed off on her journey, but already, she had found somewhere she could imagine herself calling home.

  “Good night,” she whispered again as she watched him fly down the highway and disappear into the darkness.

  Tanner.

  He was everything she had ever wanted and more.

  And now, she was going to see him again. She realized she was smiling from ear to ear and she bit her lip. Just as he liked.

  She opened the door to the motel room quietly and stepped inside. She was going to have to get her beauty sleep. Even though she had the feeling her mind would be working overtime with thoughts and hopes of what could be.

  7.

  “Wow,” Kirsten said as she looked on at Jo who was busy preening herself in front of the motel mirror. “I mean, that sounds sexy as hell.”

  “It was,” Jo smiled at the memory. “I mean, it really, really was.”

  “So, where’s he taking you?” Kirsten jumped to her feet and joined her friend at the mirror, adjusting a loose strand of hair for her.

  “I don’t know,” she replied. “But I don’t even care. As long as I’m with him, I know we’ll have one hell of a time.”

  “Well, you look awesome,” Kirsten smiled warmly. “I mean, really, you do.”

  Jo stood back and looked at herself. She was all done up for her man and she liked the way it felt. She hadn’t spent long picking her outfit, but she had done a good job. Tight leather pants, a small black crop top, wicked high heels, and she had slicked her long blonde hair over one shoulder and highlighted her eyes with dark shadow. She felt every inch the biker chick, and she was loving it.

  “Well,” she said as she looked out the window. “The sun is going down and my nerves are about to explode. I hope he doesn’t keep me too long.”

  Jo turned and picked up her purse. She threw in a red lipstick, some mints, her cell phone and a small bottle of perfume.

  “I don’t think he’s going to,” Kirsten grinned.

  She waved Jo back over to the window and both girls peeked out from behind the curtain. She heard him before she saw him, the roaring bike making its way across the desert sand. Tanner was coming for her. Her spine tingled.

  “There he is,” Kirsten said as the bike came into view and Tanner whipped his powerful machine into the parking lot. “Now go and have fun, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  Jo laughed and winked before the girls hugged each other and she skipped toward the door.

  As she opened the door to the motel room and stepped out into the pink light of the setting sun, she saw Tanner’s jaw drop when he saw her. The way the leather hugged against her skin made her look like a shimmering black snake, working her way across to him, swiveling her hips and oozing sex appeal.

  She was going to take what was hers. She was determined.

  “Well, look what we have here,” Tanner mused as she reached the bike and he wrapped a strong arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. “Someone certainly suits leather.”

  “I thought you might like it,” she breathed headily as he pulled her right up against him and pressed his lips against hers.

  She gasped as he slid his tongue into her mouth, searching hungrily and taking her breath away once again. It had been a whirlwind of a few days, but this felt like the culmination of everything. As if now that they were back together again there would be no breaking them apart.

  “I’ve missed you today,” Tanner whispered as he looked deep in to her eyes. “You’re all I could think about.”

  Jo looked down at the floor coyly and bit her lip.

  “Come on,” he said as he pulled her onto the back of the bike and revved the engine with a deafening roar.

  Jo looked back over her shoulder as they zipped out of the parking lot and onto the highway and could see Kirsten watching her with her mouth wide open and a jealous look in her eyes. For all the girls had been best friends for what felt like forever, there was certainly a rivalry between them, and Jo was feeling it now more than ever.

  Tanner was heading in the opposite direction from where they had been the previous evening, they were heading back out of town, away from Slate Springs and deep into the desert. They were heading the way Jo had driven in.

  The road was familiar and even though she had driven it in the dead of night, she reco
gnized certain markings and signs, certain bends and the way the highway felt. When she saw the dirt track approaching up on the right, she knew where he was taking her. He was going to show her where they had disappeared when the convoy had approached her car.

  She gripped him tightly and braced herself for the hard turn he was about to make. As the bike gliding off the highway and onto the bumpy and uneven desert ground, she squealed with glee as they bounced along and drove harder and faster, out and away from civilization and to a secret place that very few eyes got to see.

  As they rose up over a hill and the valley spread out ahead of them, Jo gasped as she saw what was there. A deep canyon, with all the brilliant colors of the setting sun glittering and seeming totally out of this world. In the middle, before the drop off into the canyon, nestled deep within the valley was a cluster of buildings, and in the center was a tall, old looking house, standing tall and proud.

  “Is that?” she whispered.

  “Yep,” Tanner smiled. “This is our clubhouse.”

  Jo held onto him tightly and felt her heart race even faster.

  She didn’t know what she had been expecting, but to be welcomed deep into the fold so soon felt particularly special. Tanner wanted her around, he wanted her with him by his side, and now she was going to be brought into their headquarters, she was going to see the inner workings of how the motorcycle club was ran.

  Tanner skidded the bike to a halt and he helped her down and to her feet. She looked up at the house in front of her, all three or four floors of it. It seemed so tall and imposing, so big and brutish, much like Tanner himself. They climbed the steps quickly and as they got inside, Jo looked around, noticing the maze of rooms that seemed to lead off the main hall.

  “Everyone is out,” Tanner said in a low voice. “Except some of the old boys.” He held a finger to his lips to tell her to keep it quiet and she nodded knowingly.

  Tanner gripped her hand and pulled her up the stairs, racing up them two at a time and darting down the hallway on the second floor.

  “Am I not supposed to be here?” she whispered as he kicked open the last door on the left and pulled her inside.

  “Of course, you can be here,” he grinned. “I just like the way it feels sneaking around with you.”

  He smiled and pulled her closer to him, kissing her hard and deeply and locking the door behind her.

  When their lips parted, Jo looked around the room and took in every inch of his personal space. It was a typical bachelor’s room. Dark walls, dark bedsheets, a guitar lay on the floor in the corner and scattered around were empty bottles of booze and cigarette packets. His room smelled strongly of his aftershave and as he lay down on the bed and kicked up his feet, Jo couldn’t help but think how natural this felt. It was as if being in each other’s company was just how the world was supposed to be.

  Tanner lit a cigarette and exhaled the smoke into the air. The window was open and pink sunlight shone in, the sun just about disappeared down over the mountains. Jo watched him and felt her nipples tingle. She was in his bedroom. She had him all to herself. He was lying there watching her, waiting to see how she reacted, waiting to see how she felt.

  Her nipples stiffened in her top and she gasped. Tanner looked down at her chest and smiled as he noticed her body reacting to the situation. And then, in return, the big bulge in his pants jerked and moved. Jo gasped again. Her whole body was on fire, and her pussy was becoming engorged and slick with lust. He didn’t even have to touch her, they could just stand on opposite sides of the room and look at each other and it was sending them both into a frenzy.

  Tanner sucked in on the cigarette and watched Jo as she kicked off her heels. A wry smile crossed his lips and he waited with baited breath. Jo took a step forward and slipped the strap of her top down over her shoulder. She heard him gasp and the monster in his trousers moved again.

  “Come here,” he growled as he stubbed the cigarette out in the ashtray and held out his hand.

  Jo stepped closer to him and slipped her fingers into his. Tanner got to his feet and towered over her, his huge frame blocking out the light from the window and plunging them into darkness. He ran his hand up her neck and gripped her hair, and Jo reached down and touched him, she had to feel what he was hiding in there. She had to know what she was dealing with. She gasped as her fingers traced over the outline. He was huge, rock hard, ready for her.

  “I’ve been hard since I first saw you,” he whispered to her as he bit her bottom lip gently and pulled her down onto the bed.

  Jo straddled him and wrapped her legs around him tightly, just as she had done on the bike, but this time, they were touching the right way. The bulge of his cock pressed into the crotch of her leather pants and she moved up and down on him slowly, arousing them both even more.

  Tanner growled and flipped her over, pulling at her top, exposing her big, beautiful breasts. She gasped as he kissed her, licking her all over, running his tongue up her neck and biting her ever so softly, and then with more force as his desire overpowered him.

  As he slipped off her pants and ripped at her panties, Jo was dizzy with lust and overcome with how much she craved him. He was so big and strong, so powerful and manly, she had never known it was possible to feel so small, so vulnerable, so at someone else’s mercy. As his fingers found her sweet spot, she threw her head back and moaned. He dipped a finger inside her and grunted as he felt how wet she was, and all because of him.

  Jo reached down and unbuckled his belt, ripping at the buttons on his jeans and pulling them down. They both couldn’t wait to have each other, there wasn’t enough time to undress each other properly. Jo pulled his jeans down to his knees and opened her legs wide, as Tanner kissed her, pushed her hard down into the mattress and looked at her deep in the eyes as his incredible cock was teasing her, waiting to plunge deep inside her and open her in ways no one ever had.

  “Tanner,” she gasped as she ran her hands through his hair. “I want you so badly.”

  He smiled wryly and held onto her throat with one hand and his huge manhood with the other as he pushed inside her and split her in two.

  With each hard thrust, Jo quivered and panted, unable to take the sensations he was provoking in her. She had never felt pleasure like it, and he was such an expert at fucking her, she couldn’t even see straight. She wrapped her legs around him tightly, allowing him to slip even deeper inside of her, hitting her in just the right place to make the heat rise within her.

  Tanner groaned and gasped as his strokes became harder and faster. He was a ball of energy, recoiled and ready to explode at any moment.

  “Baby,” he growled as he withdrew so that he could plunge into her at full force once again.

  Jo was trembling beneath him, her whole body was rigid and ready, she didn’t know how long she could hold on.

  As he thrust into her once more and burst inside of her, Jo’s whole body vibrated and an intense wave of pleasure flooded through her. As she came and unraveled around him, the two of them clung together, their souls fusing together, their hearts being joined.

  Her orgasm tore through her, and they screamed in unison as they both reached the most amazing climax, their bodies never knowing anything so sweet.

  Tanner collapsed on top of her, his huge muscles slick with sweat and his hair wet with exertion.

  “Fuck,” he panted as he kissed her longingly on the lips. “Just fuck…”

  He was out of breath, unable to speak, and Jo was right there with him. Quivering in the aftermath of their love.

  As night crawled in and engulfed them, they nuzzled into each other in bed and kept themselves wrapped up together. Jo couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. She loved him already. She really did. And she had the distinct feeling he felt exactly the same too.

  “I don’t want you to leave,” Tanner whispered as he wrapped his hands up in hers. “Tell me, how can I convince you to stay?”

  “I think you’ve just done a pretty good j
ob of that,” Jo giggled.

  And Tanner kissed her again, running his fingers through her hair.

  “Stay here with me,” he said as his lips skimmed hers.

  Jo knew what she wanted to do, but how could she know Kirsten wouldn’t get mad at her, or even worse, if she would try to sabotage what she and Tanner had already built?

  “But my friend,” she whispered. “I don’t know what she’ll think.”

  “If she’s a true friend, she’ll just want you to be happy,” Tanner said genuinely. “I mean, look at how we all are here. My brotherhood and I are in this together, there’s a whole world we run right here, but ultimately, we all want the best for the other. No one would ever try and ruin the other’s life for the sake of the club. In the end, people come first, Jo.”

  She nodded her head slowly. She knew what he was saying and she completely agreed. She just hoped Kirsten would see it the same way.

  “I have nowhere to go,” Jo whispered as they began to drift off to sleep. “I want to stay here. I would love to call Slate Springs home.”

  “It is home,” Tanner said. “Because as long as you’re with me, then that’s where you are.”

  8.

  “Are you sure you have everything?” Jo asked as Kirsten slammed down the trunk and looked back toward the motel.

  “Yep,” Kirsten smiled. “I didn’t bring a whole lot to begin with.”

  “And are you sure I can’t change your mind?” Jo asked as she took hold of her hand.

  “I’m sure,” Kirsten smiled warmly.

  The convertible had been fixed and was ready for the next stage of the adventure. But this time, Kirsten would be going it alone.